BILLY RUANE | Legendary Boston promoter to stream entire VHS gig archive, going back to 1988

Today, I woke up and Billy Ruane was the first thing on my mind. I wondered how he'd cope with all these COVID-19 confinement bollocks? If he were still with us. I suspect, (though with Billy, you never quite know what you're going to get)  He'd take  this going down kicking and screaming (like some of us) or maybe he would be sitting here in front of a screen in his bathrobe with a nice bottle of port with some soft cheese, watching all of us six feet apart on Facebook/smartphone spinning records to NOBODY in our living rooms on a continuous social media feed?  Probably the former. Though, I'm fairly sure he'd find a way to make anything of this shit-show voluble and volatile!

Some of you ( not many) probably don’t remember; there was once upon a time when you went to a gig and only ONE person was videoing. On tape. With a tripod. I remember them well. I was living in Boston during the 90s and almost every night, there was a GREAT gig happening not far away and Billy Ruane was the man who made them all happen. This week we’re going back to BEANTOWN! The fine curators from The Road To Ruane have some AMAZING memories for ALL this week!

It's been far too many years since the unexpected death of Billy Ruane. And yet, the Boston music scene icon keeps on giving, thanks to the help of a couple of Boston musician and videographer Jody Moore, Domains and Pretty Flowers guitarist, historian/curator, Greg-Dalton Kay, and Boston rocker turned filmmaker, Michael Gill is putting the finishing touches his long-awaited documentary, The Road To Ruane

And so while we await the completion of our self-quarantine and social distancing, the Ruane video vault has been opened for public viewing and will broadcast over Reprobate Live Music Series over the next confined week. Over the past few days, a handful of clips from Ruane’s personal archives have been posted to YouTube, and this morning’s score is a full-set performance from Mudhoney back in 1988

“Pleased to announce that Billy’s foresight in capturing shows on video will now be bearing fruit on the official Road to Ruane YouTube channel,” states a message on the Road To Ruane Facebook page, “where we will be uploading selections from Billy’s vast VHS archive spanning back over 2 and a half decades. Special thanks to Greg Dalton-Kay for taking on the task of archiving, cataloging, and uploading.”

Billy Ruane- "Unsung Hero" 2010 Boston Music Awards from Michael Gill on Vimeo.